Facebook's latest experiment might put cash in your pocket

Facebook wants to help you get paid for your content

The world's largest social network may be experimenting with a tip jar to help you get paid for your posts.

A survey spotted by The Verge asks a series of questions about possible monetization plans for content creators on Facebook.

The survey asked users about their interest in having a "call to action" button on a post to solicit monetary contributions, as well as what analytics, like engagement and reach, they'd like to see.

If Facebook does implement a tip jar, it would join Twitch and YouTube in providing a means for content creators to get paid via small donations.

Twitch allows its streamers to make money through subscriptions and merchandise sales. Large media companies like The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have joined micropayment service Blendle to let readers enjoy content ad and paywall free.

I guess the question is, why not Facebook?

Money maker

Word of a possible post tip jar comes after Facebook's F8 conference last week, where the company shared its vision for the future.

Messenger chatbots were introduced as a way for businesses to interact with people directly inside the app. You can even online shop using bots, such as the one belonging to Spring, which isn't surprising as Facebook already lets you pay your friends via Messenger.

The chatbots are still a work in progress, but you can see Facebook's vision of what the internet should be: Why leave Facebook and its services when everything you need is in one convenient place?

In addition to wanting users to shop inside Messenger, the social network has made sharing content so easy that folks have stopped going to sites directly. Instead, Facebook is their window to the web.

Though this has made it difficult for content creators to get paid, it looks like Facebook is finally doing something about it.

Alongside Facebook's Instant Article feature, a tip jar could help content creators generate another source of revenue. And, of course, this will keep both users and creators on Facebook for longer.

It's unclear which users, beyond verified accounts, Facebook is showing this survey to. There's no guarantee that Facebook will follow through with these monetization methods, but it's encouraging to see the social network think about content creators.

Still, perhaps a better option is if you could tip your friends to stop posting content, like pictures of their babies.